The application of a flavoring agent to nuts has long been known in the art. For instance, U.S. Pat. No. 3,457,087 to Renner discloses a process for eliminating surface blemishes from peanuts by heating them to a temperature above the boiling point of water and then quenching in an oil bath which may contain various flavors and aroma-producing compounds. In U.S. Pat. No. 4,206,246 to Mamahit, peanuts are immersed in a boiling brine which may contain various flavorings to produce a flavored nut-meat.
The prior art also recognizes that when nuts are defatted, the loss of oil diminishes their flavor. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,740,236 to Baxley indicates that roasted peanut flavor appears to be reduced in proportion to the percentage of the peanut oil removed during the pressing process.
Although the exact reason for the flavor loss in partially-defatted nuts is not fully understood, the doctoral dissertation of M. E. Mason, entitled "Procedures in Studying and Factors Influencing the Quality and Flavor of Roasted Peanuts", Oklahoma State University, 1963, pages 63 and 64, indicates that oil pressed from peanuts contains aleurone grains, among other particulates, which appear to contain flavor precursors. The Mason dissertation, however, was not concerned with preparing low-fat nuts, but simply with gaining a better knowledge of the source and identification of flavor principles in peanuts.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,049,833 to Gannis et al., partially-defatted nuts are reconstituted in a glycerol solution at elevated temperatures. The glycerol solution may have various flavorings and colorants incorporated in it. U.S. Pat. No. 3,645,752 to Baxley discloses a process which comprises mechanically pressing nuts to partially defat them, oil-roasting the nuts, and quenching the hot nuts in a bath of a high stability oil which may contain various flavors.
Likewise, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,364,967 and 4,504,513 to Black disclose a process comprising mechanically pressing peanuts, simultaneously reconstituting and roasting the peanuts in an oil bath, and quenching the hot peanuts in a second oil bath of a high stability oil which may contain flavor impregnants. The resulting peanuts are then milled into a paste for use as a chocolate extender. Vix et al., in a similar process disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,294,549, dry and roast defatted, reconstituted nuts in a hot oil bath.
The problem, however, with all these processes is that quenching of hot partially-defatted nuts or otherwise placing the nuts in an oil bath adversely increases the oil content and caloric content of the partially defatted nuts. As a result, the full, low calorie benefit of partially-defatted nuts cannot be realized.